Sunday, April 26, 2009

You're not hardcore unless you live hardcore

Wise words from Jack Black...

All growing up my family and I would frequently go to Arches National Park on vacation. I think we picked this spot because it gave us easy access to places where we could toy with death (which, apparently, is my family's favorite pastime). There's nothing more fun or exhilarating than climbing to the top of a 200-foot sandstone fin, walking along the top (which is about 5-10 feet wide), looking out over the edge and thinking, Why did we come up here?

We went down to Arches again last weekend and had a great time. We did the Fiery Furnace (which is by far the best thing in the entire park), Devil's Garden, Sand Dune Arch (where we saw Jeff and Amy Parker of all random people and places), and Delicate Arch. It was a lot of fun. Here are some pictures (click the thumbnail for a larger version):

You're definitely right about that: it is much easier to get up these rocks than to get down. That's often the danger, because what can be pretty easy to get up can be very dangerous to get down.

How do we do it with no special aids? Two ways: first, a little bit of insanity. Second, you have to understand that sandstone (which is the type of stone in Arches National Park) is very easy to grip, especially with rubber or leather shoes.

If you ever come to Utah to visit Sybrant headquarters, you should certainly go visit Arches. :)

Would certainly have a visit to Arches National Park when i come someday to Sybrant Technologies Headquarters in Utah. The other thing that you owe me is the Pizza treat ;-). It would be worth having it after a successful climb at the Arches... What you think? lol

Note: I get reminded of the SpellCheck function that we did and the interactions we had for status updates when i type my message over here. :-)